Your Son/Daughter is Going Where?? Round 2

A bit of a unique perspective to add to this. When I accepted my Falcon Foundation offer last April, I explained to my high school friends that I would be going to a prep school for a year then (hopefully, still waiting for appointments to come out) the AFA for the four years after that. Lots of my friends were happy for me, even though most had no idea what any of it meant.

Then my friend who joined ROTC at his chosen college chimes in. "Bro why don't you just go to a regular college and do ROTC so you can have fun partying and drinking on the weekends. You're going to be miserable at the academy, wasting the best years if your life." That one always make me chuckle. He is a good guy, just has never been away from home.

(Just to be clear, I am not trying to bash on ROTC with this post, I just wanted to provide context on the person saying this nonsense. I have other friends that are ROTC Mids/Cadets that are going to be amazing officers in the near future. I'm sure this friend will be too, he just has a big mouth at times lol)
I think it's all personal preference. As an Academy applicant myself, I would prefer the Academy life over civilian college life but I'm also certain I'm in the minority in terms of that.
 
Granted I'm just an applicant, but I've still heard a couple good lines here and there...

Them: "Oh you want to go to West Point? Where's that?"

Me: "...It's in West Point..., New York."
 
Granted I'm just an applicant, but I've still heard a couple good lines here and there...

Them: "Oh you want to go to West Point? Where's that?"

Me: "...It's in West Point..., New York."
Most people dont even know there are other cities besides NYC in the state of NY so that isnt that weird. Probably 3/4 of the people who have heard of West Point, have no idea where it is
 
Most people dont even know there are other cities besides NYC in the state of NY so that isnt that weird. Probably 3/4 of the people who have heard of West Point, have no idea where it is
I’ve learned to tell people I’m from Long Island.
I have to explain to non NY there are three parts to New York-
1. NYC, which most people outside NY think of as Manhattan.
2. Long Island
3. Upstate (north of the Throgs Neck to me).
Each is very distinct.
 
I’ve learned to tell people I’m from Long Island.
I have to explain to non NY there are three parts to New York-
1. NYC, which most people outside NY think of as Manhattan.
2. Long Island
3. Upstate (north of the Throgs Neck to me).
Each is very distinct.

You botched that.

We in Upstate NY believe there are two parts of the state.

1. Us. Above the Tappan Zee.
2. Them. Below the Tappan Zee!
 
In Calfornia its split into southern Calfornia which is basically Santa Barbara through San Diego. Central California which is made up of lots of farmland (fresno, Bakersfield, then San Francisco and Sacramento. I guess you could split out Napa Valley also. San Francisco would include
Silcon Valley and Palo Alto areas.
 
Our daughter told few that she had even applied to USNA. Even after she got her appointment, she didn't say anything to other than immediate family. So you can imagine their surprise...

One of her HS coaches (after she had gotten her appointment) told her that she wouldn't ever amount to much. He wasn't the one that wrote her letter of recommendation.

Others commented on her size and that for that reason she wouldn't make it, failing to take into consideration her high school sports (ice hockey and rugby). They wondered about the "low" standards of the USNA. Probably should explain that she had to get a waiver because she was that underweight.

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when she showed up wearing a USNA T-shirt for college selection day at her high school. That was only matched by the announcement at her graduation. Her school is known for service and part of their graduation ceremony honors those that have chosen the military. They announced those young men that had enlisted in USMC (3), followed by the young men that were going AF ROTC (2) and then they announced her appointment. There was a collective gasp and then a lot of whispers.

Then there are her grandparents. One served in the Korean War in the Army and the other in the Vietnam War. Both proudly announce where she attends, and the first questions go back to how Navy is doing in football.

Love this.
 
And lots of them "Would have served except that I know I would have ended up punching a Sergeant the first time they got in my face."
This could be its own thread
Many times when people recognize me as a Veteran, after conversing a bit will say something like “Yeah, I was going to serve too and would’ve been Airborne, gone to Ranger school but......
I just nod and think to myself Riiiiight.
People shouldn’t feel like by them not having worn the uniform makes them any less of a person or patriot. There are many many ways to serve our Country and local communities.
Thank God for those people and their service too!
Sorry for the hijack....
 
You botched that.

We in Upstate NY believe there are two parts of the state.

1. Us. Above the Tappan Zee.
2. Them. Below the Tappan Zee!
You're both wrong, New York is full of vastly different regions with their own unique climates, cuisine, and attractions. What you downstaters think of as upstate has a completely different meaning to people who live in the real NY. The Mid-Hudson region is most assuredly NOT upstate, despite being north of the Tappan Zee. It may have bears, but real New Yorkers want nothing to do with it. The people there all sound like they live in Brooklyn.

By the way, this map isnt 100% accurate with its allocation of counties into regions, or with the name or number of regions but it gives people unfamiliar with NY a general idea of the size and breadth of the state


nys-phases.jpg
 
I definitely agree on the different cuisines. You can't get tomato pie anywhere other than the Mohawk Valley. I did find one place in NC that makes a barely passable tomato pie.. and the owner cam from the same Mohawk Valley city that I did.
 
There is a special sub-category in this realm of comment.

Presumably, most often said to women veterans out of hearing of others, as I can attest to:
“Well, if the nurses had all looked like you, I would have joined up.” (Ugh.)
“I bet you enjoyed having all those men to pick from.” (Yes, of course, main reason I joined and stayed 26 years.)
“I would have served, but the services aren’t what they used to be with all the women and ‘others.’” (WTH?!)
“I didn’t serve because I would have been distracted by the women because I’d be worried about protecting them.” (Sigh.)

These kinds of comments are not as vintage as you might think, nor come out of the mouths of a certain generation. One of our plebe sponsor mids, who happened to be a male, earnestly asked me if I regretted not having focused on my primary God-given role as a a homemaker and being content in traditional roles in the family, and how my DH felt about it. I simply said “no” and reassured him God had a plan for me.

Human beings. Endlessly entertaining.
 
I stand corrected. I always considered the land in the southern part above the Tappan Zee to be part of us.

But you are right. We don’t want the people either.
 
I definitely agree on the different cuisines. You can't get tomato pie anywhere other than the Mohawk Valley. I did find one place in NC that makes a barely passable tomato pie.. and the owner cam from the same Mohawk Valley city that I did.

LOL I live near Mohawk valley - what the hell is a tomato pie?

Google is my friend - it’s that thick Chicago style pizza! We in NY prefer NY style.
 

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LOL I live near Mohawk valley - what the hell is a tomato pie?
It's basically a Sicilian pizza crust with a thick spicy tomato sauce and some grated parm on top. It's served at room temp. I could buy a slice for a dime at the local stores in Utica when I was a kid. Now I have to buy a whole sheet when I want it. I get some every tome I go home. It's all about the tomato sauce. If your in the Utica area try Roma's. Holland Farms has it but it's inferior.
 
Assuming we will return to the main topic at some point, I have to chime in on NY. We have NH friends (think generations back) who have strong opinions on “the New York people from the northern part of the state who think they are New Englanders,” Massachusetts drivers, the odd Maine people, and, of course, “those people from Vermont who think they are better than us.”
 
I head that way occasionally - to Wampsville and Turning Stone. ... we used to play teams in sports that way. It’s on my bucket list.
 
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